Office-indicator.



' Patented Oct. I0, I899.

3 H0 T A Em \RD .m F Co a 2 4 3 6 0 N (Application filed July 18, 1899.)

'2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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Patented 001.10 I899.

2 SheetsS heet 2.

C; V. B. REEDEB. OFFICE INDICATOR.

(Application filed July 18, 1899.)

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(No IodeL) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

cLrN'ron v. 13; REEDER, or'sAN JosE, CALIFORNIA.

OFFICE-INDICATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No 634,628, dated October 1O, 1899. Application filed July 18, 1899. Serial No. 72 1.259. (No model.) A

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CLINTON V. B. REEDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Jos, in the county of Santa Clara and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Office-Indicators, of which the following is a specification. I

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in office-indicators, the object thereof being to provide a device which in its construction includes a mail box or receptacle, a plurality of indicators which are so constructed that the individual elements thereof may be set or fixed to suit the requirements of the user, the case having to one side of the same a receptacle for cards or memoranda-tablets, all as will be hereinafter set forth, and specifically pointed .out in the claims) In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an office-indicator constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation with the back removed from the casing, and Fig. dis a horizontal sectional view taken on the dot-tedline f 4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates a casing which is so constructed that the front part will have a portion which projects, the face of said front portionbeing covered by a glass, and behind said glass is positioned a plate having therethrough sight-openings, a dial, and below said dial a suitable inscription. The rear portion of the casing A constitutes a mail box or receptacle, into which mail-matter may be deposited through the slot A, and one of the sides of the mail-box has therein a window,and on the opposite-side is a door having a lock. The interior of the mail-box is divided from the front portion of the casing by a partition B, and at a suitable distance in front of said partition is the indicator-plate O,which has therethrough sightopenings 0' C and below said openings a dial (3, which may be attached thereto or printed thereon. This dial "is similar in design to a clock-dial, inasmuch as it has the usual numerals arranged in an ordinary man ner, and beyond said numerals there are the abbreviations A. M. and P. M, which are positioned near the dividing-lines on the dial,

so that when the hour-hand is set or placed to one side of a numeral it will indicate the hour and before or after noon. Below the dial the indicator-plate O has thereon a single line of directions which may be the words May be found at.

On one side of the casing, on a line between the glass which covers the indicator plate and said indicator-plate, is a vertical slot a, through which may be passed a flat plate of sheet metal D, one edge of which is bent upon itself to provide a groove or recess d, while the other side or edge has projections 01'. The plate D is adapted to receive a suitable card or strip, which is placed in the recess before the plate is inserted through the slot at, and when the plate is inserted in the position shown in Fig. l of the drawings the inscription on the card may be read in conjunction with the legendimmediatelyabove; but when it is desired that the legend or line of directions should be covered the plate is inserted in such position that the projecting portions or offsets d will be downward and when so positioned the legend'orinscription willbe hid.

Between the partition 13 and indicator-plate O is attached a frame having bearings for shafts e, f, and g, which shafts carry at the ends which project through the casing suitable hnobs, which when turned actuate the shafts to set the different movable parts of the indicator.

' it refers to a short shaft which carries a beveled pinion h, with which meshes a pinion f on the shaft f, said shaft being mounted in suitable bearings, so as to be at right angles with the shaft h, and upon said shaft his mounted a sleeve, to which is attached one of the indicating-hands i, the other end of said sleeve carrying a pinion g, which meshes with a pinion on the end of the shaft By turning the shaft f the hour-hand can be set, and the minute-hand is set independently thereof by turning the shaft g. The operating-knobs on the outer ends of the shafts project from opposite sides of the casing. I

K refers to a disk mounted on a suitably horizontally supported'shaft 70, said shaft carrying a pinion and said disk has printed thereon, so as to be visible through the sigh opening C suitable inscriptions, which may or may not be read in connection with the inscription on the laterallyanovable plate above.

L refers to a laterally-movable plate, which may be maintained in a vertical position by a guide-plate Z and sleeves attached to the plate L, which embrace a bar Z. The plate L carries a rack L on its rear face, and upon the front of the plate may be inscribed suitable inscriptions.

The shaft e carries at its lower end a pinion e for engagement with the pinion 70 on the shaft 70, and said pinion c has a sleeve which is adapted to abut against the shaft-bearing when the shaft 6 is raised and at a suitable point. Said shaft e carries a cog-wheel E, there being above said cog-wheel a sleeve which bears upon the cog-wheel and is engaged by a spring which encircles the shaft e and abuts against the casing or other shaftbearing. The tendency of the spring is to keep the bevel-pinion in mesh with the pinion 7t, so that the disk K may be turned; but when it is desired to change the position of the laterally-movable slide the shaft is raised, which compresses the spring and brings the eog-wheel E into mesh with the rack L, and when said parts are in engagement the slide or plate can be adjusted to the right or to the left.

The device hereinbefore described forms a convenient piece of ollice furniture, as well as a mail-box for the reception of mail-inatter or messages, and the construction maybe varied within the scope of my claims without departing from my invention.

I claim 1. A casing for the purpose set forth, the front thereof having an indicating-plate with sight-openings and a dial, the casing being divided into front and rear compartments, the rear compartment constituting a mail-receptacle and the front compartment inclosing mechanism comprising a pair of horizontallydisposed shafts for independently operating hands or pointers over the dial, a verticallydisposed shaftlongitudinally movably mounted in bearings and provided with a beveled pinion and a cog-Wheel, the pinion actuating a disk positioned in the rear of one of the sight-openings and the cog-wheel for moving horizontally a slide positioned in the rear of the other sight opening of the indicatingplate, substantiallyas shown and for the purpose set forth. I V

2. In an office-indicator, the combination with a plate having sight-openings, as C C therethrough, a laterally-movable plate secured in the rear of the sight-opening C, a disk pivotally secured in the rear of the sightopenings 0 a vertically-disposed shaft movable so as to be in operative engagement with either the laterally-movable plate or the rotary disk, and a spring for holding the shaft in engagement with the operative mechanism of one of said parts, substantially as shown.

In an office-indicator, the combination with a casing having a slot at therethrough,

an indicatingplate having directions arranged horizontally and permanent on the indicator-plate, of a slide having a straight edge on one side and on the other side a straight central portion and offsets at the ends,whereby the plate When inserted in one position will leave the inscription exposed and when reversed will cover the same, substantially as shown. I

4. In an oiiice-indicator, the combination of a plate having sight-openings therethrough, a laterally-movable plate with inscriptions thereon supported by means of a guide land sleeves l, the sleeves engaging a horizontallysupported bar, a rack which projects from the rear face of the plate, a vertically-disposed shaft spring-actuated in one direction and provided with a cog-wheel for engagement with the rack when the shaft is raised against the action of the spring, whereby by turning the shaft the plate may be moved laterally, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit nesses.

CLINTON V. B. REEDER.

WVitnesses:

J. J. KENNEDY, W. DENKER. 

